President Obama gives some deep background on NBA

Reporting from Washington, D.C. — 

Broadcaster Marv Albert said he asked the White House for the interview with President Obama and got an immediate OK. Once it started, he got more than the revelation that the President thinks Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James would be a good fit for the Chicago Bulls.

The pair also talked about more serious topics, including the strict new Arizona anti-illegal immigration law. Albert asked Obama what he would do if he were NBA commissioner for a day.

Lower ticket prices, Obama replied.

“I asked him how often do you watch,” Albert said. “He said he watches when the kids go to sleep and Michelle goes to sleep. He goes into the study and puts on the games and reads.”

“So we’re basically background for you?” Albert said to the President. At that, Obama laughed, Albert said.

The TNT interview, an excerpt of which was shown Sunday, will be shown Tuesday before Game 4 of the Lakers- Phoenix Suns series.

A presidential nudge won’t sit well with Cleveland. Obama carried Ohio in the 2008 campaign and has made seven trips to the Buckeye State since taking office. Should James defect to the Bulls, the state might be in play when the 2012 election rolls around.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, in an interview Monday, had a playful suggestion of his own: “I think the White House would look good in Cleveland. He [Obama] would fit well in Cleveland. It would be nice.”

Obama isn’t a casual sports fan — or a neutral spectator. When he threw out the first pitch at the Nationals baseball game in April, he stuck a White Sox cap on his head. Boos poured from the hometown crowd.

But basketball is his best game and he seems to have a special reverence for King James.

In 2004, before delivering the Democratic presidential convention speech that vaulted him to national prominence, he told a reporter: “I’m LeBron, baby.”

After taking office, Obama converted the White House tennis court into a basketball court, a move that made sense given all the pickup games he played during the campaign. He said he wanted to invite James to shoot rounds with him. So far, he has had to settle for out-of-shape congressmen, White House staff and Cabinet secretaries.

But there are a couple of real athletes in the group. His personal aide, Reggie Love, played basketball at Duke University, and his Education secretary, Arne Duncan, played professional basketball in Australia.

peter.nicholas@latimes.com